Regular Physical Activities’ Effects on People’s Aging Process

Regular physical activity has long-term positive effects on people’s aging process, helping them to maintain their balancing abilities, while medical treatment programs based on exercising allow older adults to recover better, regain their physical abilities, and prevent the risk of falls.

Annotated Bibliography

Dipietro, L., Campbell, W. W., Buchner, D. M., Erickson, K. I., Powell, K. E., Bloodgood, B., Hughes, T., Day, K. R., Piercy, K. L., Vaux-Bjerke, A., & Olson, R. D. (2019). Physical activity, injurious falls, and physical function in aging: an umbrella review. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 51(6), 1303-1313. 

This peer-reviewed research aims at examining the connection between the risk of fall-related injuries and physical activity in older people. The authors conclude that the latter helps older adults reduce the risk of falls, and extended exercise programs can even improve physical function after experiencing a hip fracture or stroke (Dipietro et al., 2019). This article is rather valuable for the topic under discussion as it helps to prove that physical exercises are indeed beneficial for the elderly.

Gopinath, B., Kifley, A., Flood, V. M., & Mitchell, P. (2018). Physical activity as a determinant of successful aging over ten years. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1-5. 

To conduct this research, the authors interviewed 1,584 adults older than forty-nine years and asked them about their physical activity and diseases. Gopinath et al. (2018) managed to find out that older adults who chose to lead an active lifestyle and regularly engage in physical activity “had a greater likelihood of aging successfully 10 years later” (p. 1). Overall, this article is relevant for the thesis statement as it explores the long-term effects of physical activity.

Lin, Y. H., Chen, Y. C., Tseng, Y. C., Tsai, S. T., & Tseng, Y. H. (2020). Physical activity and successful aging among middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Aging, 12(9), 7704–7716. 

The focus of this article is precisely on the long-term effects of leading a physically active life and examination of whether age and time can impact the positive results. According to the authors, “physical activity promotes successful aging among middle-aged and older adults, especially in the younger population,” meaning that the earlier one begins to exercise, the more positive effects they will feel during aging (Lin et al., 2020, p. 7704). The value of this research for the topic is that it allows analyzing the long-term positive effects on ordinary people instead of the results of exercising treatment on patients.

Martínez-Velilla, N., Casas-Herrero, A., Zambom-Ferraresi, F., Sáez de Asteasu, M. L., Lucia, A., Galbete, A., García-Baztán, A., Alonso-Renedo, J., González-Glaría, B., Gonzalo-Lázaro, M., Apezteguía Iráizoz, I., Gutiérrez-Valencia, M., Rodríguez-Mañas, L., & Izquierdo, M. (2019). Effect of exercise intervention on functional decline in very elderly patients during acute hospitalization: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 179(1), 28–36.

The purpose of the authors is to “assess the effects of an innovative multicomponent exercise intervention” by conducting a randomized clinical trial and comparing the outcomes of usual-care and physical exercising treatments of acutely hospitalized older patients (Galbete et al., 2019, p. 28). The results indicate that physical activity interventions can effectively and safely reverse the functional decline among the elderly. This is a helpful article that provides many insights regarding the comparison of usual-care and physical exercise interventions.

Sellami, M., Gasmi, M., Denham, J., Hayes, L. D., Stratton, D., Padulo, J., & Bragazzi, N. (2018). Effects of acute and chronic exercise on immunological parameters in the elderly aged: Can physical activity counteract the effects of aging? Frontiers in Immunology, 9(2187).

In their article, Sellami et al. (2018) focus “on the potential for exercise training to affect the aging immune system” (para. 1). The authors prove that regular physical activity can counteract the aging effects. The value and relevance of this article are that the authors provide extended explanations of the reasons why older people are at risk of developing many diseases and how exercising is related to it.

Thomas, E., Battaglia, G., Patti, A., Brusa, J., Leonardi, V., Palma, A., & Bellafiore, M. (2019). Physical activity programs for balance and fall prevention in elderly: A systematic review. Medicine, 98(27). 

In this article, it is stated two important issues among the elderly are an increased risk of falls and a reduction in the ability to balance due to their physiological decay. The authors believe that the promotion of physical activity in the aging adult is essential because various exercise training means tend to improve balance, while the lack of physical activity has negative effects on balancing abilities (Thomas et al., 2019). This credible source is valuable as it includes a systematic review of the scientific literature and contributes to the topic under discussion.

Weyh, C., Krüger, K., & Strasser, B. (2020). Physical activity and diet shape the immune system during aging. Nutrients, 12(3), 622-639. 

This article’s aim is to explore the connection between chronic exercising and the mechanisms of immunoprotection. As noticed by Weyh et al. (2020), “lifestyle factors such as exercise and dietary habits affect immune aging positively,” while the lack of physical activity leads to negative effects on older adults (p. 622). The usefulness of this article is that it also provides details on immunoprotection and the positive impact of exercising.